


You hold your child as tight as you can

by TinyButFierce



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Tony Stark, Father-Son Relationship, Fix-It, Gen, Iron Dad, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Spoilers, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 04:35:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14488947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyButFierce/pseuds/TinyButFierce
Summary: We're in the end game now.





	You hold your child as tight as you can

**Author's Note:**

> I'M SO UPSET FRIENDS  
> This movie broke me.
> 
> Spoilers ahead.
> 
> I own nothing.  
> Title from Hamilton.

Ashes in his hand. His own blood mixing with… with… 

 

He sat and rocked himself back and forth. Hands shaking. 

 

The sun gleamed behind him and destruction reigned. 

 

Ash floated in the distance, blown away. 

 

He holds himself tighter and starts to sob, hands clasped together as if the boy he cared so much about was still in his arms. 

 

A throat cleared from behind him and he jerked his head around.

 

She was standing there. The blue alien who showed up to fight Thanos. He didn’t know her name but one look into her eyes told him all he needed to know. 

 

They both survived.

 

The one’s they cared for didn’t. 

 

She walked closer and put her hands on her hips. 

 

“Get up. We should get out of here.”

 

Tony stared at her and then looked back down at the ground and his hand shaking above it. 

 

Nebula growled under her breath and forcefully picked up the destroyed man. 

 

He cried out as she jolted the wound in his side and she adjusted him in her arms so he wouldn’t be in as much pain. 

 

It was the least she could do. She had heard the mage say that it was the end game. This human was more important than an infinity stone. While he looked broken she knew he was the only way to gain her revenge. 

 

In the distance the Milano sat undisturbed. The ramp lay open.

 

Nebula placed the human on a cot in the belly of the ship and left him to go pilot the craft. 

 

Tony gazed forward at the blinking lights of the foreign ship. Blinking over and over again. A stray thought wandered through his head that Peter loves sci-fci, he would love to see this. 

 

The genius sobbed and curled in upon himself again, visions of darkness flickered through his mind. 

 

_ I don’t want to go. I don’t want to go. Please. _

 

Dammit. He told the kid no more references. That little arachnid quoted Doctor Who.

 

Tony whispered to himself and the blinking lights of the Milano.

 

“He always thought the 10th Doctor was the best.”

 

The hero giggled and cried at the same time as his hand shook and he wondered if that was a coincidence or something to be proud of the kid for. 

 

He decided on proud. 

 

The ship jolted.

 

_ Mr. Stark I don’t feel so good. _

 

Tony sat up and leaned against the wall. Steadying himself as the craft moved upwards. 

 

Out of the window he could see stars.

 

Or maybe. Maybe the stars weren’t from outside.

 

He felt something. 

 

His bloody hand shook. 

 

He looked down.

 

Blood pooled under his body, leaking from his side.

 

Footsteps.

 

Fading.

 

An exclamation.

 

_ I don’t want to go. _

 

Darkness.

 

* * *

  
  


Wakanda was destroyed. 

 

The king was dead. The people were mostly dead. A new queen was crowned with death and ash. No more battles. 

 

The remaining avengers stayed together in that place. 

 

Helping rebuild was the least they could do. 

 

Rebuilding themselves was what they had to do.

 

Those who were left sat together in silence.

 

An alert. 

 

They were back.

 

Something was detected in the atmosphere. Earth went on high alert. The heroes grabbed weapons and got ready to avenge. Rocket and Banner stayed behind to help defend the city if worse came to worst. 

 

The ship appeared over Wakanda and landed just outside of the force field. Weapons were trained on it. The ramp descended in clouds of smoke. 

 

A figure appeared, blue, alien. She stumbled down the ramp with someone in her arms. 

 

Dark haired, human, broken armor. Tony.

 

The avengers faltered and watched, jaws dropped as their friend was carried to them by an unknown person. 

 

The blue woman with black eyes stopped at the edge of the force field. She glared at the group and shifted the genius around in her arms. Unconsciously he made a noise of protest and his ash and blood covered hand hung. 

 

The woman narrowed her eyes. 

 

“I would think that you would want to help him instead of blocking him from what he needs.”

 

Rogers stared at the man who he last saw lying on the ground in a cold bunker and froze. Natasha put away her guns and called for the force field to be opened. 

 

Rhodey ran forward and went to take Tony out of the aliens arms. 

 

She took a step back and growled at him. 

 

“I’m not letting him out of my sight. He’s our only hope.” 

 

Natasha narrowed her eyes. 

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

Nebula returned the look with her unreadable gaze.

 

“It means that he can fix this. The mage said it was so. His life was worth the time stone.”

 

Right as Rhodey was about to question her comments, the bloodied genius shifted in her arms and his eyes blearily opened. 

 

He gaze rested upon Rhodey and then glanced around, flickering towards the sun and then at his hand. 

 

He looked at the dust and lifted it up for his best friend to see.

 

“It’s all that’s left. It’s all…” 

 

Tony broke off the sentence and his eyes went glassy. He began to mutter clipped sentences under his breath.

 

“In my head. 6 years. I don't want to go. He got me Rhodes. My kid. The kid. He. He. Sorry. No apologies. No more references. I don’t want to go. I don’t want to go. It’s all about soul. Rhodey. He got my kid. He’s on my hand. I can’t. I can’t. I don’t want to…”

 

His eyes dropped close and the dialogue cut off. Rhodey looked down at the blood on his torso and back up at Nebula.

 

“What happened to him.”

 

The alien stared into his eyes.

 

“Thanos stabbed him in the chest, I stabilized him as best as I could but he needs professional help. As for mentally. I haven't been able to get a coherent statement out of him since his child turned to dust in his arms.”

 

Steve walked forward with a confused look on his face.

 

“Tony never had a child.”

 

The alien glared at the captain.

 

“I beg to differ. I’m also confused as to why that is what you choose to focus on right now.”

 

Natasha interjected.

 

“We can talk about this later. Tony needs medical help.”

 

Nebula walked forward with the broken man in her arms.

 

* * *

 

Tony woke up to blinking lights and whispered conversation. 

 

“Will he be okay?”

 

“He’s making good process on his healing.”

“His body is not what I’m talking about.”

 

“I can’t answer that.”

 

“I can’t accept that.”

 

Footsteps walked away. Tony turned towards the first speaker and his eyes landed on Rhodey. His best friend was sitting in a chair with his head in his hands. Tony moved his hand towards his friend but stopped when gaze landed on the state of his hands. 

 

Clean.

 

He started to breath heavy. 

 

Peter was gone.

 

Peter was gone.

 

_ Mr. Stark I don’t feel so good. _

 

_ I don’t want to go. _

 

“Tony!”

 

_ Hands wrapped around the child. His kid. It’s alright. It’s going to be alright. I don’t want to go. _

 

“Tony calm down!”

 

_ I’m sorry.  _

 

Hands shook him and he jolted into the present. Eyes looking at his best friend who stood above him. Arms wrapped around him and he started to cry. 

 

Back and forth.

 

Back and forth. 

 

They sat like that for hours. 

 

For what seemed like hours.

 

Footsteps.

 

More people.

 

The Avengers.

 

What was left.

 

“Tony we need to know what happened.”

 

“We know this is hard but we need to know.”

 

Silence. 

 

“We almost won. We had the gauntlet off. He got it back. Threw a moon at us. I recovered first. I made him bleed. He knew my name. He knew my name. I. I fought. He won. He got me. Strange… Strange traded an infinity stone for my life. Not. Not worth. It. My kid. Peter he. He’s just dust now. Ash.” 

 

_ This is the end game.  _

 

“Soul. It’s all about soul.”

 

“Tony what are you talking about.”

 

_ This is the end game.  _

 

“It’s not over.”

 

“Tony… Tony your eyes.”

 

“Soul demands a sacrifice.”

 

“Should we sedate him?”

 

“Soul demands…”

 

_ This is the end game. _

 

“Tony your eyes.”

 

_ I don’t want to go. _

 

“Tony what’s happening.”

 

“This is the end game. It’s all about soul.”

 

_ I’m sorry. _

 

His eyes blazed with light and those in the room stood back from the broken man. He smiled and raised his head. Light enveloped the room. 

 

Brightness.

 

* * *

  
  


Tony stood on a lake that stretched for miles. Before him was a table floating on the water and sitting at that table was the one person he wanted to see the most. 

 

He walked forward across the water that reflected the sun and sat down across from his kid. 

 

Peter looked up and smiled.

 

Tony smiled back.

 

The kid passed a sheet of paper towards him and Tony looked down to see physics equations dotting the sheet. 

 

Peter looked down, embarrassed. 

 

“Could you. Could you help me with my homework?”

 

Tony smiled and his voice broke.

 

“Always.”

 

Peter looked up and beamed at his hero.

 

“I knew you would say that.”

 

* * *

 

Brightness.

 

A flash across the universe.

 

Brighter than fire.

 

Fire that made no ash but assembled it.

 

The ash that was scattered swirled around and around and people formed and families united and happiness flourished and all was well.

 

In a hospital room a hero and his son hugged each other and cried. 

 

The broken man smiled again.

 

Light flowed. 

 

A sun reflected colors across a lake. 

 

A table sat empty.

 

The wind picked up a piece of paper and floated it in the breeze.

 

Flying away like ash.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright so there's my fix-it.  
> If anyone wants to talk about it in the comments, I'm here for you.
> 
> Comments and Kudos keep me writing!


End file.
